Mr Gerry Currid has sold his 20 per cent holding in luxury stove manufacturer Waterford Stanley for a sum believed to be substantially higher than the Eur 4.2 million he paid for it three years ago. He is also stepping down as managing director.

The stake has been bought by PRICOA Capital, the investment group that 75 per cent financed the Eur 21 million management buy-in by Mr Currid and joint managing director Mr Michael Laffan in 2000. The acquisition increases PRICOA's holding to 80 per cent.

Mr Laffan, whose share of the business is unchanged at 20 per cent, becomes sole managing director of the group, which employs 350 at its Waterford headquarters. Mr Currid said the deal was an opportunity to maximise the value of his ownership at a time of market uncertainty.

Having presided over an extensive restructuring of the company, he believes his expertise can be best deployed elsewhere and is considering a number of buy-in offers. "This was a good opportunity for me. It was an ideal exit which I decided to take. The restructuring was a once-off undertaking which is now nearing completion and I want to explore new challenges," he said.

Declining to reveal how much he received for his shares, Mr Currid confirmed he made a profit on the transaction. Nor was he willing to identify the companies seeking to persuade him to head their buy-ins.

Waterford Stanley claims to hold 80 per cent of the domestic cast iron stove and cooker market. Its current strategy is focused on building a frontline retail presence with the opening next month of a 13th Stanley Centre "store within a store" outlet at Ballina, Co Mayo.

However, repositioning the brand has not been without controversy. Last November, its wholly-owned Pierce Engineering subsidiary in Wexford closed after the breakdown in talks to relocate the 120-strong workforce. In January 2001 , a decision to outsource in the Far East led to more than 100 lay-offs in Waterford. At the time Mr Currid said the cost of pre-casting components on site was prohibitive.

Group turnover for the year ended March 31, 2002 was Eur 37 million, compared to Eur 28.5 million for the previous 12 months. Gross profit was Eur 7.4 million, up from  Eur 6.5 million. But rising distribution costs pushed operating profit down to Eur 1.9 million from Eur 2.8 million.

The bulk of sales were to the Republic, though Waterford Stanley also supplies markets in North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.